Michael Jackson statue for Fulham FC

A statue of the late Michael Jackson will be unveiled outside the ground of Fulham Football Club today.

A six-foot high golden statue of the singer, who died in 2009, will become a permanent fixture outside the stadium, causing unrest among fans of the club, as well as fans of the singer.

Mohamed Al Fayed - the chairman of Fulham and a close friend of Jackson - had originally planned to erect the statue outside of Harrods, before selling the store to the Qatari royal family for £1.5bn.

Al Fayed told the club's website: "Michael Jackson was truly a legend, a term used too often in this modern world. I hope that Fulham fans will appreciate seeing the finest performer in the world in and among them."

Hundreds of fans have signed a petition in protest against the statue that honours "a controversial American popstar, who has no links to Fulham Football Club… causing heated debate and much unrest".

Fulham supporter Lee Robinson told The Guardian: "Why? Why us? Fulham football fans do not want a statue of Michael Jackson. It's completely mad. He's got nothing to do with us. To be honest, he's the last person you'd want there."

David Lloyd, editor of fanzine There's Only One F in Fulham said: "If I was asked, did I want it? I would say no. But we've got a chairman who has done so much for us if he wants a Michael Jackson statue, so be it. What we don't want is the ridicule that will come with it."

Meanwhile, a group called The United Michael Jackson Fans of the World have also started a petition to move the statue, saying: "As has been clearly demonstrated by the awful comments on the club's website, FFC is no place for Michael to reside and certainly no safe place for Michael Jackson fans to visit him."

Michael Jackson visited Fulham FC to watch a home game against Wigan in 1999 as Al Fayed's guest.